1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic apparatus including a hinge mechanism for enabling the user to turn a display panel between a state in which a display surface is turned down relative to a main body and a state in which the display surface is put on the main body as it is turned up.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable electronic apparatus including a hinge mechanism for joining a display panel rotatably to a main body with two axes crossing vertically at the center exists. In such an electronic apparatus, a cable wired between the main body and the display panel is allowed to pass through the inside of the hinge mechanism or the surrounding thereof. Therefore, the rotation angle of the display panel relative to the main body needs to be limited.
An electronic apparatus described in JP-A-2004-197862 includes a raising shaft for moving and rotating a display panel put on a main body in a direction raising the display panel and a reversal shaft for reversing the display panel raised by the raising shaft. A hinge device for limiting the rotation angle is applied to the reversal shaft and includes an over-rotation blocking mechanism. The over-rotation blocking mechanism includes a rotation member, a first abutment holding mechanism, and a second abutment holding mechanism. If the display panel is rotated in any direction, the rotation member is sandwiched between the first abutment holding mechanism and the second abutment holding mechanism. This structure enables the display to be rotated 180 degrees in any direction.
However, the over-rotation blocking mechanism is built in the hinge device described in JP-A-2004-197862. Therefore, to reverse the display panel, whether or not the display panel can be more rotated cannot be determined from the appearance. To reverse the display panel, the user takes hold of the outer peripheral portion of the display panel and operates it.
Therefore, if the electronic apparatus has a small display panel like a mobile telephone, when the display panel is over-rotated, the rotation torque applied to a hinge device is small and thus the hinge device is not broken. However, if the electronic apparatus has a large display panel like a notebook computer, when the display panel is over-rotated, the rotation torque applied to a hinge device is large in proportion to the size of the display panel and thus the hinge device may be broken.